Vampir Scre
by MycroftsAngelEyes
Summary: Nikola gets his Vampiric powers back and whilst on the trail of a dangerous abnormal Helen and he must deal with the ramifications of certain ties. It would be nice if someone reviewed you know?
1. Prologue

_**Vampir Srce**_

**Sanctuary**

**Vampir Srce**

**Title: **_Vampir Srce_ (Serbian: Vampire Heart)

**Fandom:** _Sanctuary_

**Genre:** _Sci-fi, Family, Mystery, Slash (?)_

**Warning:** _Bit of gore and violence... sort of_

**Word Count of Prologue:**_ 6'872 words 0.O_

**Characters:** _Will Zimmerman, Helen Magnus, John Druitt, Nikola Tesla, Kate Freelander, Henry Foss, 'Big Guy', Kathryn Magnasa_

**Summary:** _When Nikola Tesla gets his Vampiric powers back, he has a girl to thank for it. A girl who has a lot of ties to the Sanctuary and the Five, in so many different ways. Whilst on the trail of a dangerous abnormal they must deal with the ramifications of such ties._

**A/N:** _Well, this is the longest prologue that I've EVER written for a fic and I must say that this was the most challenging one too... I've never really written a real Sanctuary fic before in my life so this is pretty new for me; which basically means that the characters aren't coming to me as easily as other characters from other fandom's do. Incredibly annoying I can assure you. Anyway, this is kind of like a set-up for an actual – current-time – hunt that they're going to be going on as well as a review of what's led up to these events. It's one of those "it's kind of got the end at the beginning kind of fics"... sort of... :/_

_Anyway, I hope you enjoy it and please review!_

_Kasey xx_

"The burning desire to live and roam free,  
It shines in the dark,  
And it grows within me,  
You're holding my hand but you don't understand,  
So where I am going, you won't be in the end." _– Utopia, Within Temptation_

**Prologue**

Sometimes, it seems that life is full of dramatic irony, and not the sort that you want to come across and spend plenty of time in the company of. The type of dramatic irony that normally incites terrified or suspense-filled gasps from spectators during a tragedy when the unlikely hero undergoes something so traumatising and survives it that it's a better adrenaline rush than running through the tunnels of Old City chasing after a deranged abnormal that has a penchant for chomping down young children.

But dramatic irony for some is something that they live for; indeed some strive on it and perform some of the best and most unimaginable feats whilst living up to the drama. What is so dramatically ironic about what has happened previously is the fact that, the main protagonist in this whole affair, was not someone that was universally liked – but he was accepted and tolerated... well, _mostly_ – yet, when it was his time to go into the night, none of them wanted to see him go even though he had suddenly come to terms with his demise – several decades overdue. The ultimate irony is, whilst he was so desperate to continue to live on throughout the ages, the one time he has the opportunity to do so – after the first one was so very unceremoniously taken away from him by a twisted and possessively stupid fledgling – is the one time when he can't fix it, when he personally cannot save himself. The irony is that someone else had to do what he could not when he finally acquiesced to the demands of time.

As it was, as he strolled along the decorated and tasteful corridors - humming a little tune that was most definitely an undiscovered masterpiece of one of the many classical composers – Nikola Tesla was indeed in absolute admiration of living, of being something _more_ again. He needed this part of him; he needed the piece of his spirit that was so different yet so much the same that it was neither normal nor abnormal for him, in order to be able to survive. And he had a girl to thank for giving him a second chance, a girl that he'd initially only been interested in because of her DNA but now – after everything that had happened – he could safely say that if any harm came to her then there would be hell to pay. Someone so young had saved someone so old simply by being a fresh pair of eyes and a keen, observant mind. He was _never_ going to live that one down was he? Hell no!

**T=E=M=P=L=U=M**

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"Nikola. How nice of you to finally arrive." Helen Magnus - the head of the Sanctuary Network that spanned the entire globe and sought out those who were genetic advancements, abnormals, in a bid to both help and understand them and the rest of humanity - a woman to whom Tesla's heart would forever belong to, said sarcastically as Tesla entered her study to find that he was the first one there.

He looked around himself and pouted before turning to look at Magnus and smile as he replied. "Helen, did you tell me the wrong time so that you could have me all to yourself?" He grinned cheekily and he swore he saw the woman blush – though he knew she blushed because he could smell the blood in her cheeks.

"Hardly Nikola, if I hadn't have given you the wrong time you would have been purposefully late." Magnus shot back as she stood up and moved out from behind her desk. She walked over to stand in front of Tesla who put on a wounded expression.

"Moi? I would never _purposefully_ be late Helen. There was a good reason for me not being here on time." Tesla remarked as he took a slight, but noticeable, step back away from Magnus which caught her attention. He saw that she noticed when she smiled sadly at him.

"Of course. I should have recalled." Magnus said softly as Tesla looked away from her and off out of the window – it was sunny day with the sun shining down on Old City with a sort of benevolent feel as people went about their daily lives and the such... and Tesla wanted to go out and kill every last one of them.

"Nonsense Helen, I'm the Vampire here, I should have remembered what happened the first time." Tesla countered as he snapped his gaze back onto the brilliant woman standing opposite him. "Considering I'm a genius this was a poor oversight on my part."

Magnus stared into Tesla's face intently, trying to see if there was anything else he was hiding about his newly returned vampiric powers but he seemed to be on the level so she smiled and nodded. "Alright. But I'll want to run a few tests and see if we can find a blood substitute that will mix with you."

Tesla groaned dramatically and Magnus smiled wider. "Oh great, now I get to be the vampire pin cushion for the best doctor around. This is a real honour."

"Yes, yes it is Nikola." Magnus retorted as she moved off towards her desk and sat down. She looked up at him and asked seriously. "Will you be alright with the others in the room or shall I open a window?"

Tesla glared at her and answered softly. "I'll be fine, though I doubt opening a window will do any good Helen." He raised an eyebrow as she inclined her head in agreement before continuing. "Besides, they're about to come in here and I will not be shown up by a fledgling that's over one-hundred years younger than me."

Magnus laughed softly just as the door opened and the core of the Sanctuary in Old City came waltzing through the door. Will Zimmerman, the young protégé that seemed to have some very tasty blood running through his veins – the type of blood Tesla doubted there was a lot of in the world nowadays – frowned slightly as he noticed that Magnus was laughing and that Tesla was in the room already. Always suspicious, much like dear old James, but never overly obvious about it.

Henry Foss, the fur of the gang, walked into the room almost shadowing Will – in much the same way that a predator stalks their prey, though the young werewolf in Nikola's opinion didn't seem aware he was stalking his own friend like he was a tasty meal. Kate Freelander sauntered in, looking for all the world like she didn't want to be here but Tesla knew better, and he'd smelt better too – there was something about her scent that always made him queasy, though he'd never noticed it when he was human for a short time but now it was almost overpowering. He guessed it had something to do with the fur but he wasn't positive about it.

The air in the room seemed to become oddly charged when the next person walked into the room and Tesla felt a jolt in his heart where that little coil of pure electricity that he relished feeling again sparked. As the girl _glided_ into the room because, honestly, the way she entered _could not_ be considered as being walking or anything of the sort. Even for Tesla's re-vamped, if you'll pardon the pun, senses he couldn't hear any of her footsteps on the carpeted ground. Still, that was to be expected of a fledgling who was a bloody disconcertingly fast learner – she even upstaged Tesla's quick mind on occasion, and he was pointedly ignoring the occasion that had saved his life and brought him back to his former power and glory... well, if you exclude the fact that he'd got a few more wrinkles when he'd been human, and a grey hair!

Last but not least, although in Tesla's opinion last place wasn't far enough away from this old friend, John Druitt; A.K.A Jack the bloody Ripper, almost levitated into the room because of that silly looking leather coat of his – though Tesla couldn't say anything really about leather and such because he could _distinctly_ recall what he did in the early 90s.

"Nikola. How unpleasant a surprise it is to see you walking unimpaired." Druitt said, his politely British voice softer than its usual tone wherein the man – or the monster as it had been for a number of years in Nikola's opinion – would mock him with words and tear into his heart, and though he tried to contest it Tesla did indeed have a heart that was capable of great emotion. Very great. Too great for a Vampire really. Too much for a normal man even.

"Well, even the greatest must be given a reprieve from their misfortune, perhaps you'll get that when you become great one day John... though probably not." Tesla shot back before Helen could interrupt and stop their verbal sparring – it was either a duel with words or a duel with claws and fists... to some degree Nikola preferred the latter because that would mean there'd be plenty of blood all over the place and no-one would notice if he lapped it up, sucked his saturated neck-tie because they'd be so busy trying to save John that little old Tesla would fade into the background...

But he couldn't think like that and he forcibly clenched his fists, his nails elongating slightly but they were sharp enough to dig into his toughened flesh, and used the pain to control his urge. He could not give into it, he'd made a promise all those years ago and he'd be damned if he'd break a promise – especially when it was to someone who he held in his heart with absolute reverence.

"What's up Magnus?" Will asked as he leaned against the couch which Henry and Kate were slouched on, looking at his mentor with a calculating but also politely intrusive stare which Magnus either didn't notice or didn't respond to.

"Yeah doc. What's so important that you had to have this _thing_ drag me away from my baby's?" Henry asked jerking his head in Kate's direction who punched his arm making him wince.

Magnus raised an eyebrow at Henry who pouted, before answering both of their questions. "I thought it would be prudent if everyone was informed that there will be no lasting side-effects from Nikola's second-transformation as well as the fact that I've received a call from a contact who is requesting our assistance... with a particularly powerful abnormal." Magnus looked pointedly at Nikola and John. "Including you two I'm afraid."

"Well, I'm sure you'd adore having me along, what for my dashing looks and genius but I'll have to take a rain check m'dear. You'll cover the expenses though won't you?" Tesla smirked as Helen glared at him and Will rolled his eyes at his childish behaviour; what did he care what the young protégé thought of him and his behaviour, he didn't care... not one bit.

"Nikola..." John damn near growled as the man stepped closer towards him, his hands curled lightly into fists and his shoulders hunched slightly to try and make him seem more imposing – which didn't really work on a Vampire because size was irrelevant. But, that being said, Tesla had been human for a while before his second transformation so he instinctively took a step back and raised his eyebrows in surprise – more at his own silly following of a stupid instinct that applied to _normal_, dull humans.

"John." Magnus said sharply, the steel in her voice automatically bringing John to a dead stop, still standing in front of Nikola with his hands curled lightly, and he turned to look at her slowly.

He gave her a soft, disarming smile that seemed to say – I-wasn't-going-to-do-permanent-damage-honest - but Magnus shook her head and said sharply. "Nikola will be coming with us regardless of his personal thoughts on this. The abnormal has been infected, much like those centipedes in the mountain ranges, so someone with vampiric abilities would be useful – and since Nikola is quite experienced with how to fight without the use of handguns, he'll be an asset." Magnus' eyes snapped onto Nikola's face and he saw, deep in her eyes, a slight softening of her heart – as though she was doing this to help him and was trying to convey that to him; he wasn't going to thank her for this, not one bit – and said firmly. "No arguments Nikola."

Now that he had his silly, human-instincts under control Nikola smirked humourlessly and waved a hand airily. "Oh Helen... you shouldn't take everything I say to heart; you might get the wrong idea about my feelings towards you." He tilted his head slightly and grinned a little wider, knowing full-well that he was annoying John and Helen at the same time – but it's so much fun to antagonise those that know you best; they're the ones who won't take everything you say to heart... well, almost everything.

Shaking her head at Nikola's antics and wondering why she was putting herself through this agony, Magnus said to the room at large. "Make sure you're all packed and ready for six-thirty tomorrow morning; and before you say anything, it has to be that early because of the time zone differences." Looking around at the all she saw varying degrees of reluctance; Kate at having to get up so early no doubt, concern; for his computers of course, Henry was always concerned about his computers, and slight confusion; which would naturally be over who would be incharge of the Sanctuary whilst they were all away – she could always trust Will to be the one to think of such things first, so very much like dear old James that it was sometimes painful just to be around him, but that was no reason to avoid him; indeed, since he was so very much like James it was a reason to be around him, he could see things she couldn't. Just like James could. Had. Used to.

"Whilst we are away, Declan will be heading the Sanctuary as well as several others who are willing and able to be here for however long we are away. I suggest you all get an early night – even if you don't sleep – so that we can leave on the dot." Magnus smiled and sat down at her desk again, which was her cue for their dismissal.

All but the girl trudged out of the room, though Nikola was weary of leaving Magnus alone with the girl – as was John if the look on his face was anything to go by – but since Magnus had dismissed them and they had no other real reason to stay behind they had to leave. However, they didn't go far. Paranoia was a side-effect of a long life Tesla supposed as he and John blended into the shadows of the corridor less than twenty-feet from the door to Magnus' office door – though the corridor was well lit by the afternoon sun the two of them still managed to fade away into the woodwork, afterall, they were both hunters of much the same calibre.

Back in Magnus' office Helen Magnus watched the only remaining person with well-concealed weariness. She did have a justified reason for being weary; the girl was a fledgling, young and inexperienced, control was hard for her to find and maintain though she expressed the air that it was almost too easy to control her more... dangerous side. Magnus studied the girl for a long time, wondering, not for the first time, whether she should have told her and Nikola what she had recently discovered herself. She didn't have any real right to keep the information private and though it hurt her to think of it to be true, she knew the science wasn't lying – especially since she had redone the test two dozen times before finally conceding to the truth of the matter. There wasn't any real reason for her to deny it, no real reason for her to hide it, except... except for John's reaction. John would be so angry, angered beyond reason, and she was so very, very aware of how tenuous a grasp John held on his anger nowadays. She could not, would not, do or say anything about this that could potentially cause John to lose his temper and attack them. Any of them; including Nikola. Actually, especially Nikola since it would only be natural of John to blame Nikola; the Vampire was the easiest one to blame for anything going wrong, anything being done that is untoward a person, because Nikola wouldn't bother denying it whether or not he was responsible. His ego was just that big.

Just as Magnus opened her mouth to speak Kathryn beat her to it, her soft but subtly demanding voice echoing around the room in contrast to how her footsteps did not. "Why is it that you have included me in this Doctor Magnus? If I am correct in assuming so, I am not a member of your staff, nor am I officially one of your patients. Therefore I do not understand the reason for my attendance of this meeting, or the subsequent accompaniment of you all in search of this dangerous abnormal."

How very odd it was for Helen to hear another female British voice in her office, in her home, after having grown used to being surrounded by Americans. The girl's accent was a mixture between that of an Oxfordshire born-and-bred person along with the less than politically correct tinge that most in the North seemed to have that made certain sounds lilt and become more Irish in origin. It ultimately gave the girl a more enigmatic feel to her, not that she wasn't enigmatic enough of course, but the accent certainly helped. That being said, the fact that the girl had never attended a preparatory establishment, having instead attended public school, Magnus was quite surprised by the Oxfordshire tinge to the girl's speech; it was quite uncommon, but it seemed to be a part of the girls personality and Helen wasn't going to begrudge the girl for being who she was – Heaven knows the girl had already had enough of that whilst growing up being so different to the majority and never truly understanding why or in what way.

"You're a Vampire, the only other vampire in existence besides Nikola." Magnus responded, raising an eyebrow as the girl stared back at her with a raised eyebrow – if one had been in the room at the time then they would have sworn that they were seeing mirror-reflections of the same person with twenty-plus years between one image and the other, it was so very uncanny that it would have made even the most unobservant pause in consideration.

"Irrelevant and you know it." The girl shot back, quick as lightning as she crossed her arms and stared expectantly at Magnus. "My being a vampire has absolutely nothing to do with your decision to let me '_tag along'_, in fact we _both_ know that you hadn't even considered my vampiric abilities when you decided to bring me along, so therefore there must be other criteria which you've judged me by and thought it prudent to have me join your little excursion. So therefore, if it isn't too much trouble for you Doctor Magnus, could you please skip the pointless excuse and simply _tell me_ why I'm coming?" Though Kathryn was fast-speaking and forceful in her wording of sentences, she spoke with such a polite tone of voice that it put Helen off her game a little – it was like someone using your best move against you in a fight, it kind of knocked you for six.

"I-" Magnus blinked profusely as she tried to get her bearings back, and the girl just watched and waited for her to reassert her control. "Alright. The real reason is because I recently discovered some ah... sensitive information pertaining to yourself and I thought it would be safer if you came with us so that I could ensure your continued safety." Magnus let out a slow breath and stared at the girl.

"That's part of it but not the whole story." Kathryn stated simply as she shrugged. "And I know that because your heart beat just sped up by an average of two beats per minute which only ever happens when you're lying. So, what's the rest? Is it something to do with the serum I made? Or is it something to do with the fact that Nikola's still trying to handle being a vampire again and is finding it difficult to control himself? You want someone there who you know can hold him off when he's in a blood rage?"

Damn the girl was quick. Too bloody quick for Helen right now, her lie was being pulled apart and steadfastly stomped into the ground by a girl who, by all rights, shouldn't have even picked up on the fact that Helen was lying. Though, that being said, Ashley was always remarkably good at telling when Helen was fibbing, it seemed that that was no different with Kathryn Magnasa either.

Before Helen could say or do anything Kathryn had covered the distance of the office, from where she'd been standing close to the door right up to Helen's side as she sat at her desk, in less than a heart beat causing her to jump and reflexively reach towards her draw which housed her gun. "You're not going to tell me the truth of the matter are you?" Kathryn said softly, standing close enough to Helen to make Helen's natural instincts stir and make her aware that there was a very dangerous predator less than a foot away from her. "No, you won't because you think that whatever reason you've got for not divulging such sensitive information is a justifiable reason. So, I won't press you anymore, in fact I won't bring it up again and if, when you feel like such sensitive information isn't as classified as you obviously think it currently is, I'll be waiting for you."

The slight whistle of the air as Kathryn flitted across the room to the door was all that Magnus heard before her eyes picked out the girls form standing by the door, her hand on the door handle. "Have a good day Doctor Magnus and be sure to get some decent rest yourself, immortality doesn't include the lack of needing sleep you know?" And with those parting words Kathryn opened the door and slipped out into the corridor, the door clicking shut behind her as she disappeared down the corridors of the Sanctuary, leaving Magnus alone with her thoughts and secret fears.

The girl was right - and now she could appreciate Nikola's annoyance whenever Katrine won an argument with him; she never bragged about winning an argument, but she exuded an air that seemed to scream at you; I'm-right-you're-wrong-glad-we-cleared-that-one-up-moving-on?

Helen sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose tiredly as she logged onto her account on the Sanctuary network and began typing up lists of what needed to be done whilst she was away on the hunt. The work of a leader is never really done though because she knew, without a doubt, that she would still be giving out orders to people whilst on this expedition. Sometimes she longed for a nice, long, event-free holiday where she could just relax in the sun and not have to order someone about beyond getting another beverage. It would be so very nice. But she was a realist and such a holiday was neither practical nor possible with her line of work.

Still, she wouldn't give it up for the life of her. It was in her blood. Literally.

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As Kathryn walked down the corridor she got the distinct sense that she was being followed, in fact she knew she was being followed because her senses were picking up the same scent that she herself now had – only with a slight musky tinge to it which also told her exactly as to _who_ it was. Pretending that she hadn't picked up on the fact that she was being followed she made her way towards the library which was, luckily enough, in the same direction that she was already heading, and made a deliberate attempt to not slip back into her predator persona. She had to look relaxed if she was to find out what they wanted – without bloodshed preferably. Her gait was deliberately relaxed in such a manner as to lull people into a false sense of security and it worked, quite efficiently in fact because she was nothing if not observant. She'd had to be observant because what others knew instinctively she'd had to learn through years of painful observation and trial-by-error. It made her ability to know people, their actions and their reasons for such actions, as good as Will's and she was quite proud of that fact.

Her breathing was soft and gentle, almost none-existent but that wasn't a real concern of hers as she slipped into the library and faded away into the stacks – she had to be thankful for Doctor Magnus' love of literature; the books kept her company during the night when everyone else was slumbering away. Watching the door way intently Kathryn observed as two figures, almost unnoticeable regardless of the fact that the library was relatively well-lit, stalked into the room obviously looking for her. She would have sighed had it not been for the fact that she didn't want to give away her position to them, she did want to hear what they had to say afterall.

"Well, _that_ was productive!" Nikola hissed as he threw up his arms in exasperation, he was really beginning to hate this... this _kid_ now. Everytime he followed her she always, _always_ got away – it was like she was his metaphorical Achilles heel, his one weakness because she was indeed a very real threat to him. "She's probably in her room cackling away at having tricked me!"

"Hardly Nikola, don't be so dramatic." John said softly as he looked about the room. "She's in here; it will merely take some time for us to reveal her current hiding place." He moved softly over towards one of the bookshelves and took down a particularly old looking tomb which looked to be a first edition. Moving over to one of the tables in the library, John sat down and flicked the book open to a random page before starting to read it, studiously ignoring Nikola gaping at him in disbelief.

"You're reading?" Nikola asked, purely because he couldn't figure as to _why_ Jack the bloody Ripper was sitting there, all willy-nilly, reading a book as though he were waiting for a guest with whom to have afternoon tea with. The British! Nikola would never, never ever be able to fully understand them!

"Yes Nikola. It is quite a common thing to do when one is in a library; which is a place which contains books and other such references for information and knowledge." John replied acerbically, turning one of the pages of the large book and seemingly absorbing what was written on it.

Nikola glared at the older man as he threw himself down into one of the chairs. "What I mean is; you're reading a book when you had just said we should be looking for the girl. Perhaps I'm not following your unique style of irrational thought as well as you think I should be, but doesn't 'looking' normally entail getting up and _searching_ instead of sitting and reading?" Nikola raised an eyebrow pointedly as John stopped reading and looked slowly up at Nikola with a smirk.

"Yes Nikola 'looking' does indeed entail searching but then again, there are many different types of 'searching'." John smirked as Nikola glared at him and threw his hands up dramatically before leaning back in his chair to give John one of his patented glares which he'd been renowned for back in Oxford; oh how time flies when you're immortal.

"You know, his plan is probably more efficient than any hare-brained scheme you had planned fang-face. At least with Druitt's plan he'd have had a clear view of the entire open space here as well as the door way which is the only access point for the whole library; excluding the secret entrance but that's only to be used in emergencies if I'm correct in assuming." Kathryn's voice echoed around them as she walked out into the middle of the space and over towards their table, a light smile on her face. "Though, I'm sure you've realised that now it's been pointed out to you."

Nikola hissed at Kathryn as John chuckled in amusement; he may have been weary of the girl and her... nature, but heavens it was fun to watch her mock Tesla with his own precious weapon; words. It certainly made for an interesting experience he had to admit. "Well, if _some_one didn't try and play Houdini then we wouldn't be forced to have to make a plan in the first place would we?" Nikola snarled as he glared at the girl murderously.

"Houdini? Is that some sort of game you play when you're bored fang-face because if it is then I've got to warn you, make sure you have a pair of scissors that can cut through titanium-coated fabric otherwise you'll be as much a gonner as Mr Houdini himself was... that's if you weren't the original Houdini and you couldn't bear the embarrassment of being defeated by a silly length of chain and some water." Kathryn smiled darkly as Nikola's finger nails began to elongate as he growled deeply. "Temper, temper... you wouldn't want to lose control now would you?"

John watched wearily as Nikola suddenly, like someone had hit a switch, bolted up from his seat and dived away towards the doors with Kathryn following behind him with the same predatory feeling that John could sense Nikola was currently feeling. He rose from his seat stealthily and moved swiftly but silently across towards the doors, reaching them just in time to reach them to see Kathryn and Nikola disappear down the corridor to the left. Briefly debating as to whether or not he should follow them or go and inform Helen of Nikola's difficulties with his vampiric-rebirth, he was saved the trouble of deciding when he heard a shout from down the corridor followed by the sounds of hissing, snarling and general fighting between two predators.

Though it probably wasn't the most intelligent thing that John had ever done in his one-hundred-years-plus existence, the act of throwing himself in front of Nikola to stop his old friend from tearing the young protégé's throat out was probably not the most stupid thing he'd done either. Be that as it may though, putting yourself between a very hungry vampire and its prey is tantamount to suicide... or putting yourself between a mother bear and its young cub. You just _don't_ do it if you want to live. So, with that conclusion, John had to seriously question his mental health as Nikola barrelled into him with so much force that he hit the wall so hard that for a second his was momentarily dazed. A single second and that was all Nikola really needed to wrench his neck to the side and dive towards the now exposed source of blood. But the sharp pain of teeth tearing into his flesh didn't come for John as he was suddenly aware of strong, clawed hands gripping Nikola's arms and dragging him away from John.

The next thing he knew was that the window at the end of the corridor no longer had any glass with it and neither Nikola nor Kathryn were anywhere to be seen. The young protégé was lying on the floor, leaning against the wall opposite John clutching his arm tightly and John spied fresh blood pouring from a scratch, not a bite, mark on his lower arm. Shaking off his daze John moved over to Will and took the injured limb in his hands as he examined the wound, deftly manoeuvring the limb with a gentle touch which didn't cause Will much discomfort, though that could have been because the boy was currently trying to get his heart beat back under control.

Sounds of snarling and hissing and essentially fighting still echoed along the corridor but John could tell that the... fight was losing momentum, almost as though they weren't fighting for much reason anymore and were rather just staking territory. Odd in itself really since he'd never known Nikola to be possessive of anything, except Helen but the vampire needed to learn that Helen was John's and nothing would ever change that. Nothing ever could.

As John silently helped Will to his feet both Kate and Helen came hurrying down the corridor and before he could utter a word Helen demanded. "What on earth happened? We heard a commotion over here from the other side of the Sanctuary!"

John sighed and was about to answer when something, no someone, dived through the window and hurried towards them. John stood protectively in front of Helen, Kate and Will as he watched warily as Kathryn stalked over to them, the entire right side of her face covered in fresh, sticky blood which John guessed was from a head wound that had only just healed. "Nikola needs his medication dosage increasing _immediately_ Doctor Magnus, unless you'd much prefer your protégé becoming a vamp-snack for whenever he's a bit peckish?"

Helen blinked and looked behind Kathryn, no doubt trying to figure out where Nikola was and openly gaped when Kathryn answered her unasked question. "Don't worry; he can't hurt anyone right now. He's currently trying to remember how to swim in the pond... kind of amusing that a vampire that's over a hundred years old can't swim really." Kathryn smiled at them and it looked so strange with the blood on her face that she looked more like a deranged psychopath than a polite, well-mannered young lady. "I'll fish him out in a little while but it seems that he's so focused on not drowning that his urge to chew someone's throat open has currently abated. Although, I won't be able to do this again because I'm sure he'll know how to swim by the time I drag his fang-faced arse out of the water."

Kate, trying her best not to laugh at the absurdity of the whole thing said. "He's in the _pond_? As in you threw the super-genius, vampire in the pond right?"

"Yep. And I must say; if it doesn't do anything to deflate his ego then I'm going to revert to using my claws next time." Kathryn answered; quick as a whippet and she grinned as Kate laughed. "This trip of ours is going to be _so much fun_ isn't it?"

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**T=E=M=P=L=U=M**

Nikola finally managed to drag himself out of the pond almost four minutes after Kathryn had rather unceremoniously bodily thrown him into it during their little... battle, war, all-out-attack on each other. If he was honest with himself, he was quite surprised that he didn't know how to swim – though perhaps it would be better of him to say that he couldn't remember how to swim. One-hundred-and-fifty-odd years is a long time for a long-term memory to function at near top-level really, so it was no real surprise that he'd forgot how to swim really is it? Not at all... honestly, not at all. Of course, the fact that he'd forgot and then had almost drowned as a result – could a vampire actually drown though, that was a good question really wasn't it? – was quite embarrassing for him, and when you coupled it with the fact that the fledgling had thrown him quite literally into the deep-end just made it an even more unbearable event for him than it had been beforehand.

Slowly rising to his feet and stripping off his water-saturated jacket, Nikola sighed and shook his head, dispelling some of the water stuck to his naturally spiky-hair. He needed to find Helen and get her to increase his medication, even though he hated the stuff and hadn't really needed it for over ninety years, it seemed that the high dosages he'd required back in the first decade of his new rebirth were going to become something of a daily habit again. Damn it, but this was a price he was willing to pay for his nature; he would not give up being a vampire ever again.

As he began moving towards the side-entrance of the Sanctuary that he was currently closest to Nikola spied the outline of two figures heading towards him from said side-entrance. They looked familiar and both were female judging by their gait. Great. The little fledgling had ran to get Helen who was going to shoot him on the spot for being a threat and not wait to hear his side of the story – though it wasn't exactly all that good a side really but that's beside the point. He might as well dive back into the pond and sink to the bloody bottom; it would save Helen a couple dozen bullets.

Folding his suit jacket over his arm Nikola took a deep breath and began to walk purposefully towards Helen and the girl with his trademark smirk plastered on his still wet face. "Helen! You should have joined me for a swim; the water's just _lovely_ this time of year! Full of bacteria that can destroy an immune system and what looks to be a squid as well! _Truly_ fantastic!"

"Nikola." Helen said as she came to a stop just a few feet away from her friend, looking at him with a sad but wary expression. "I'm going to increase the dosage of your medication starting immediately and I think it might be a bad idea to take you along tomorrow, but I can't leave you here free to roam about without any sort of containment." Helen winced as Nikola looked at her with a wounded expression, he couldn't really believe that she was considering _locking_ him up already.

"He'll be fine if you increase his dosage Doctor Magnus. It'd also be safer if he came with us; at least I can give him a run for his money in regards to the vampire-style fighting." Kathryn cut in before Nikola could speak. "And then there's also the fact that I don't leave family behind." Helen started violently as Nikola openly gaped at the girl, too surprised by her comment to notice Helen's reaction to it, but the girl did and she smirked in quiet triumph. "I knew it."

"How?" Helen breathed out softly looking for all-the-world like someone had just hit her in the solar plexus with a two-by-four. Kathryn chuckled softly, her voice carrying lightly, and Helen was suddenly reminded of Nikola's laughter whenever he found something twisted to be amusing. It was a strange comparison of her to make but it was an apt one nonetheless.

"Easy. Ignoring the fact that I had to make a serum that would work on his DNA – which meant I had to look at my own as well – there's also the fact that we share certain physical attributes as well as particular character traits which suggests that we're in some way, shape or form related to one another." Kathryn answered waving a hand in airy dismissal and once again Helen was hit with the strange feeling of déjà vu as her mind supplied her with dozens of snapshots of Nikola doing the _exact_ same thing! "Although, that's the whole story really is it? You wouldn't have kept that a secret if it had only related to _Nikola_ would you? No, of course you wouldn't have. Therefore I've got to assume that there is some other element to this that I haven't yet added into the equation but I'm sure you'll supply it to me won't you?"

Helen stared in shocked silence at the girl who smirked in amusement at the shocked silence she'd managed to elicit from the great Helen Magnus. They were both staring at one another so intently that they were both surprised when Nikola suddenly said, his voice quiet and filled with abject shock, surprise and even a little fear if Helen heard correctly. "Helen's your biological mother... and I'm your father..."

Helen froze and that was all Kathryn needed to know that Nikola was right in his deduction. The only other thing that Nikola said, that is before he collapsed from apparent shock, was. "John's going to kill me for _real_ this time around."

_**To Be Continued in Chapter One**_

_**(Whenever it's actually written that is... lol.)**_

4


	2. Chapter One

**Okay, I do apologise for how long it's taken me to write this chapter; I had intended on taking a day or so and doing it shortly after the prologue but life got in the way of that plan. :/**

**Anyway, here's the latest instalment of this. :)**

**In this chapter: past events to set-up the present, with a search for a killer which leads to some chilling discoveries. Enjoy!**

**Kasey xx**

**Chapter One**

"_**It's true, we're all a little insane.**_

_**But it's so clear, Now that I'm unchained.**_

_**Fear is only in our minds, Taking over all the time.**_

_**Fear is only in our minds but it's taking over all the time.**_

_**You poor sweet innocent thing. Dry your eyes and testify.**_

_**You know you live to break me. Don't deny.**_

_**Sweet sacrifice." ~ Evanescence, Sweet Sacrifice.**_

_**Four Months Earlier**_

_Tuesday, 21__st__ September 2010_

The sun was shining down on the large building on the main road that led into the centre of town and there were young, teenaged people milling about looking for all the world like they had not a care, nor dark memory present in their minds. If one was to come, walking along the road, they'd be hard-pressed to be afraid of these young people, even if some of them dressed as though they were the epitome of a punk-rockers revival, especially when one observed how a group of teenaged lads – with tattoos, hoodies and the general 'gang-member' vibe about them – helped an old lady with her shopping when one of the rather shoddy Tesco bag-handles snapped sending her shopping across the pavement. No, it would be difficult to be scared of them if you knew them, if you watched them, but people judge by what they see – the saying of 'never judging a book by its cover' was a load of bull because everyone judged one another by how they look, by how they dress, by how they behave. Humans in the Western world often make situational errors as opposed to dispositional ones – they judge people by how they dress and put it down to their personalities as opposed to such factors as peer pressure and social thought. It's quite amusing really since everyone tries to be a scientist, they find a cause – in most cases they're wrong about the cause but that's semantics really – and then they apply the effect of said cause; so, if we were to look at a teenager who has tattoos and dresses like a 'scally' then the cause of such an appearance for most would be: that teenager dresses like that because he's a drug-dealer or a gang-member or something else that's unsavoury for the majority of the population to be. The effect of such a cause would be as follows; drug-dealer or gang-member equals criminal to the nth term equals avoid at all costs plus call police and have the teen arrested. Oh society is so brilliantly wrong on occasion is it not? It's almost enough to make one want to cry at its stupidity, but then they would also be laughing at themselves since – regardless of what they say or do – they function within society and so therefore they are a part of it, so they are just as stupid as the next person. There is no higher, moral ground in this affair, but it's nice to sometimes think there is.

The large building was a place of learning, an establishment designed to cater for those who were between 16 and 18 years of age, known as KHV: King Henry the Fifth's College, and was home to about five thousand teenage students who were there to learn and grow into their adulthood. The feel of the college was quite intoxicating, though that could have been the smell of cake coming from the Philosophy department for some strange reason that no-one really wanted to find out about; those philosophers could be a nasty bunch when they wanted to be, and Helen adored the feeling as she walked confidently along the corridor into what the students and tutors call 'The Link'; which was essentially an extra addition that connected the different parts of the college together, with Will and Henry following behind her dutifully.

She slipped easily between the students that didn't move out of her way and nodded a polite thanks to those that did and as she came to the middle of the Link and stopped she turned around to see Will and Henry getting ogled by a fair majority of the girls in the Link; unsurprising really, most girls stared after the two of them quite often, though with the age difference one would think the girls would be a little more... tactful instead of almost drooling. But then again, they were teenagers, most teenagers were walking sex machines; what with all those hormones raging around their bodies and the physical changes of puberty taking its toll on them. Still, it wasn't an important thing to take any notice of, so Helen waited until her two colleagues stopped in front of her before turning back around and looking for the face of the person she was meant to be meeting. She truly hoped that she had the right college and such, it would be a nightmare if she'd gone to the wrong one altogether; not to mention she'd be tortured mercilessly about the fact by Will and Henry.

"So, ah, who is it we're meant to be meeting exactly?" Henry asked, out of the three of them he was the least informed about this whole endeavour; mostly due to the fact that Kate has injured herself when they'd been hunting down a Barghest they'd been tracking after it has escaped its enclosure at a Private Zoo. Most people assumed that a Barghest was a big, black dog ghost, and they'd be right about the big, black dog part but not the ghost part. In fact the Barghest was an offshoot of the wolf that had evolved naturally in about 1500 AD, they were often confused as being wolfdog's but they were nothing of the sort. They had a genome that specifically told you that they were indeed a wolves that had evolved in a separate environment where the natural capability of being able to 'blend in' had been a great help to them. Helen supposed that that was probably why they were often thought to be ghostly dogs due their ability to essentially turn invisible when threatened or when they were hunting. It was a fascinating genetic variation which Helen was very much looking forward to researching when they returned to Old City but this case was by far more important than research.

"An acquaintance of mine, she said that she'd meet us at 10:20 here after her class finished." Helen replied, looking around subtly and she smiled as she caught sight of who she was waiting for. "And here she is now."

A short, podgy looking woman ambled through the mass of students over towards Helen, Will and Henry with a large, genuinely happy smile on her face. "Doctor Magnus! How nice it is to see you again!"

"It's lovely to see you Amelia, I hope you've been well?" Helen enquired as she gave Amelia a quick hug. "These are my colleagues. Doctor Will Zimmerman and Henry Foss." Amelia gave both of the two men almost bone-crushing hugs as Helen smiled in amusement at Henry's pained look. "If you'll forgive me for wanting to get down to business but, what is it that you've discovered that's so urgent?"

Helen's words had an almost instantaneous affect on the podgy woman whose entire frame stiffened. Will's eyes narrowed as he picked up immediately on the signs of a person who was very worried, nervous and just a little bit scared. Though Helen didn't have Will's keen senses she was not oblivious and she too picked up on Amelia's worry and nerves. "Perhaps we should discuss this where there's no-one to overhear us? My classroom perhaps?" Amelia said, her tone quiet and soft but there was a tinge of steel to it which Helen didn't wish to contend with.

"Of course." Helen answered nodding her head in agreement and the three of them set-off across the Link following in Amelia's tense wake. Helen noticed that a number of the students were watching them, some with barely concealed suspicion whilst others were just curiously interested in what the three of them were doing there. The only thing that seemed to be out of place in the Link was the presence of a relatively large group of students who weren't paying them any attention, in fact they weren't paying anyone but themselves any attention and so they naturally drew Helen's. As she passed them she subtly looked at them and managed to overhear a couple of words before she was out of earshot of them. What she did hear however made her pause for thought, interesting was the only word she could use to describe what she'd overheard.

Will and Henry followed behind Helen and so heard a little more than what she did, Henry most especially due to his being a werewolf and even he was surprised by what he heard. 'Whoa... do they have a supply of mini-geniuses here because man! That's deep!' he thought as he slipped into the classroom after Will and closed the door.

"Amelia, what's wrong?" Helen queried immediately as she strode across the classroom to look out the windows suspiciously; she wouldn't put it past some of the students to sneak out and eavesdrop from outside.

"It's just terrible! Absolutely awful Doctor Magnus!" Amelia exclaimed as she collapsed into her seat behind her desk. "I've never, in all my years here, ever come across so chilling! Just horrible." Amelia ran a hand through her dirty blonde hair and sighed as she blinked and looked at the three of them. "Something's killing the students."

**T=E=M=P=L=U=M**

**K= = = =N= = = =S= = = =N= = = =K**

**T=E=M=P=L=U=M**

"Wait, wait a minute! Back up a second and please tell me I heard that wrong?" Henry exclaimed as he flapped his hands in front of him in an act that Will had come to recognise was Henry's way of panicking without actually panicking. Henry was standing in front of Amelia staring at with a mixed look of hopefulness – that he'd heard wrongly – and worry – that he hadn't heard wrongly.

"This monster hunts out certain students with... special abilities and drains the very life out of them. We've only come across one student who managed to survive and he's almost catatonic in the hospital!" Amelia repeated as she wrung her hands in worry and concern. "Helen please tell me you can help? I don't want any more of the students being hurt, but we can't close the college without actual proof since only one of the attacks has took place at the college itself."

"Where did the other attacks occur?" Will asked as Henry whimpered quietly and began to bit his nails in paranoid fear. Will thought Henry was overreacting a little bit but he wasn't going to say anything; each man to his own and all that. He was mostly concerned with these attacks, they hadn't had enough information from Magnus before she'd dragged them off to the private jet that he didn't even know she owned for a merry old trip to good old England.

"The first attack occurred on the beach when the tide was out about three weeks ago. The student's body was found underneath the pier, tied to one of the supports." Amelia answered shivering slightly at the mistreatment of the student's corpse. "The second student was found a week and a half ago in a farmer's fields on one of the back-roads off the main road from here to Ormskin. The third body was found near the life-guard station off the marine road the beginning of this week and the fourth, as you know, was on the field behind the college just two days ago."

"Do you know what the MO was?" Will questioned as his mind began to go over everything he knew thus far. "Or are we going to have to find out for ourselves?" He raised an eyebrow and ignored Magnus' pointed glare; he was doing his job, simple as. And something about the woman creeped him out, he didn't know what exactly but it was making him feel slightly hostile and weary of her.

"I don't know Doctor, but I have a friend who works in the local cop shop who might be able to get you access to the case file." Amelia replied, apparently not picking up on Will's hostility nor on Helen's dark stare aimed at her employee. "I'm sorry but break's about to end and I have a class now. Maybe we could continue with this discussion another time?"

"Of course Amelia. We'll leave you be." Helen smiled softly at Amelia and made to leave the classroom when Amelia stood up and spoke.

"Oh that's alright. You can stay here if you want, I don't mind you being in my class it's just that I don't want the student's to know why you're really here." Amelia smiled mischievously and added. "And the only way I was able to get you access to the college was by saying you were a guest who was going to be observing my classes for the next week or so."

"Sneaky Amelia. Very sneaky." Helen laughed as she moved to stand in front of the podgy woman. "I should never underestimate you should I?"

"Do so at your peril Doctor Magnus." Amelia laughed good-naturedly as she moved over to open the door to her class room and beckon her noisy class in. "Come on you lot. Lesson starts now, you can socialise later. Learn now."

"Aww come on miss A! Can't we just flunk this lesson? We already know all this BS anyway." One student exclaimed as he dragged himself into the classroom and threw himself down into one of the nearest available seats.

"No Matthew you can't 'just flunk this lesson'. If you did that then I'd get fired, you'd get excluded from college and everyone else would get an evil, slave-driver for a tutor. Is that what you want? Because, if it is, then I've got to say I really wouldn't want to be you when everyone wants your head on a stick." Amelia replied as she moved over to her desk and sat down, tapping away on the keyboard until she brought up a couple of clips on their current topic. "So quit your complaining and get your folder out."

"You just got owned bitch!" One other student exclaimed as the others laughed in amusement and Matthew threw a pen at the other student. Amelia sighed in exasperation and waited patiently until the class eventually settled down and she could speak without having to shout over them.

"Today we'll be covering Selye's GAS Model. Does anyone know what that is?" Amelia asked, looking around the class expectantly. She was expected at least one of the students to try and attempt to answer her questions or she'd give them an essay to do as homework; needless to say the students had quickly caught-on to the concept of just guessing and hoping you were right in some way, shape or form.

"The GAS Model is a Selye's proposed theory of how stress affects people. It has three stages; Alarm Reaction, Resistance and Exhaustion. Each stage consists of certain 'keystones' which a patient goes through if the stressor they are exposed to isn't removed." A soft voice echoed in the room causing everyone to turn and look at the speaker who was slouched in her chair playing with a strand of hair and pointedly ignoring everyone's stare. "Initially Selye tested his theory using rats which he exposed to certain stressors; such as extreme temperatures, starvation and the severing of the spinal cord. He found that, if the stressor wasn't removed, the rats would go through each stage right up to the Exhaustion stage where their bodies could no longer cope with the constant level of stress and they died. He applied this theory to humans which is why it's called the GAS Model: General Adaptation Syndrome Model."

There was silence in the room in the wake of the girl's short monologue before Amelia broke it and said happily. "Bravo Kathryn. Brilliant as always. Where did you learn all that?"

"From the book that sitting in front of me turned to the page on Selye's GAS Model." Kathryn answered sounding bored and the class laughed in amusement as Amelia sighed at the girl's antics. "But Wikipedia wasn't all that bad a reference tool either."

Henry snorted in contempt at the mention of the website; it was joke in his personal opinion. Oh sure, some of the stuff on it was true, but it was just a giant site which was full of people's thoughts and opinions on things which they probably had no real experience dealing with. He thought that every article should start with the words: I think.

"Right. Well, courtesy of Kathryn and the ever knowledgeable Wikipedia, we now know what the GAS Model is." Amelia said, clapping her hands together as she looked around the class before tapping a few keys on her keyboard. "I want you all to start taking notes on pages 38-to-40 about the Model."

"Hey miss A." Matthew called out as everyone else settled down to work. "Who're those three in the corner over there?" Everyone's heads turned to look at Helen, Will and Henry as they sat quietly, observing the class and how Amelia interacted with the students.

"They're here to observe the class Matthew so maybe you should get down to work?" Amelia said pointedly looking at his unopened folder. She smiled as Matthew pouted childishly and opened the folder in search of some paper to doodle on; she wasn't actually expecting him to take notes but it would be nice if he could at least pretend he was.

The only student who didn't start writing notes was Kathryn who just sat in her seat and continued to fiddle with her hair idly. One of the girls next to her stopped writing and whispered something to her, to which Kathryn replied as she stopped playing with her hair and gave the girl her full attention. Helen watched subtly as Kathryn smirked humorously and plucked the pen out of the girl's grasp before beginning to jot down some notes, completely ignoring the girl who was poking her arm with a mock glare on her face. Helen frowned thoughtfully as she observed this interaction. It was very strange really the way the girl behaved and Helen was nothing if not curious and so she wanted to understand why the girl behaved in such a manner. She turned to look at Will and noticed that he too was watching the interaction between the two girls. Helen softly nudged Will's arm and whispered. "What's your impression of her?"

Will tilted his head slightly and whispered back. "She's pretty smart. I was watching her before she answered and she barely looked at that book for more than two seconds before she rattled off the run-down of the Model. She also doesn't seem too concerned with academic achievement, or if she is she doesn't show it. The girl whose pen she stole, I think is a friend and I don't think she's writing notes; or at least not her own." Will stopped and turned to look at Helen. She could see a serious glint in his eye that made her feel a little on edge. "There's something else, something that she's hiding pretty well but I don't know what it is. And it's not some silly little teenager thing; this is something serious."

"Do you think she could be our dangerous abnormal?" Helen asked, genuinely concerned for everyone's safety and also wondering if their luck was going to be that good for once.

"I don't know, she's pretty relaxed and calm-looking right now but some of the most dangerous people in history, both normal and abnormal, have has the same calm persona that she has." Will answered, honestly uncertain and Helen sighed; it seemed that luck and karma wasn't going to be that nice to them this time around.

"I'll find out from Amelia her last name and we can have Henry run a check on her just to see what comes up." Helen said quietly and Will nodded in agreement. "Until we can get back to the hotel I suggest you keep a close eye on her."

"Got ya." Will whispered and for the remainder of the hour-and-a-half long lesson, he kept watch on the girl, cataloguing her behaviour into several categories and creating a sort of preliminary profile of the girl.

**T=E=M=P=L=U=M**

**K= = = =N= = = =S= = = =N= = = =K**

**T=E=M=P=L=U=M**

"I want that essay question done for tomorrow's lesson you lot! No excuses!" Amelia called after her class as they hurried out of the classroom, some on their way to their next lesson, others to lunch and others home. Amelia waited until the last student left the classroom and closed the door behind them before she let out a loud sigh of relief. "Oh heavens! I forgot how trying Matthew can be when he wants to be!"

"I would have thought that girl would have been more of a problem for you?" Will enquired, sounding casual and not like he was prying. He watched Amelia for any signs behavioural markers that could give her away but he found none. He couldn't say he wasn't disappointed about that fact.

"Oh Kathryn? Oh no, no, no. Kathryn's a lovely girl when she wants to be." Amelia assured as she sat back down in her seat and began logging off of her computer. "She's normally more lively than she was today. She's usually the life and action of the class infact. Whenever she's not here the class is usually more subdued and less active; she's like a catalyst really. And she's quite brilliant."

"Yeah, I noticed that. You do realise she didn't look at that book for more than two seconds before she answered your question on the GAS Model?" Will asked as he leaned against Amelia's desk sounding curious. Amelia smiled up at him and he smiled slightly back knowing that he had to try to not appear to be snooping unconditionally.

"Oh that doesn't surprise me about Kathryn. Not one bit! She's a very smart young lady and she knows it too; she knows just what she has to do to get the good marks and just how much work she has to put into things so that she doesn't fall into the 'geek' category. In fact, I don't think she really fits into any of the categories teenagers have for each other nowadays. She's quite the odd one in that respect, but she's also pretty normal. She smart, funny and she knows how to turn heads – though she doesn't really bother with that; it's knowledge that her heart thirsts for. That's why she's so good at this subject; that and she seems to intuitively understand the way people work." Amelia answered as she collected her files and slipped them into her bag that was under the desk. She stood up and sighed. "Well, that's it for me until 2:30. I'm going to get some lunch if you want to join me?"

"Thank you Amelia but I was thinking that we could use this time to get to know the layout of the college and to try and talk with some of the students, just to see what they know." Helen answered as she smiled. "You go and get some lunch Amelia. You probably need the energy from a good meal after this class."

Amelia laughed at her and nodded her head in agreement. "You're quite right Doctor Magnus. Right as usual."

"Call me Helen please." Helen said as she opened the door to the classroom and they filed out, waiting as Amelia locked the door with her keys. "It's only fair that you call me by my first name Amelia."

"Of course, but you'll have to forgive me; old habits die hard I'm afraid." Amelia smiled and Helen was about to reply when she was cut-off by a voice coming from the end of the corridor. A voice that she knew very well.

"They do indeed don't they Helen?"

Slowly turning around Helen absently noted that Henry and Will had slipped their hands to their concealed weapons. Before she could consciously begin to stop herself Helen exclaimed. "Nikola? What are you doing here?"

Nikola Tesla; ex-vampire, one-hundred years plus genius with an ego to match, strolled down the corridor towards the four of them with that irritatingly smug grin of his which made Will and Henry both want to hit the man repeatedly until he couldn't grin anymore. "Helen. Is that any way to greet an old friend?" He pouted childishly and Helen resisted the urge to roll her eyes at his antics.

"Please Nikola. You can't talk about 'greeting old friends' after the stunt's you've pulled in the last decade." Helen said sarcastically as she stalked up to stand directly in the ex-vampire, glaring at him in annoyance. "Now, tell me why you're here Nikola."

"Will you get the chains out if I don't tell you right away?" Nikola smirked as Helen blushed so slightly that Nikola didn't pick up on the fact. He leaned in closer to her so that his face was mere millimetres away from her own, she could feel his breath on her face, and he said. "I'm giving a series of talks to students here about physics because I believe that the children are the future."

Two simultaneous snorts resounded around the corridor as Henry and Will moved both to flank Magnus and Nikola took a small step back to give Helen some room to breathe. "You? Believe the children are the future?" Will said in disbelief as Henry snorted again.

"Seriously dude, how cliché can you get?" Henry raised his eyebrows at the ex-vampire as Nikola shot him a dark glare. "What's next? You're planning on giving a donation to some orphanage because you believe your princess could living in one and could be air to some great royal family?"

Will, Helen and Nikola all turned to look at Henry in surprise and confusion as the young werewolf raised his hands in front of himself and said defensively. "Sally wanted to know who Anastasia was. I thought the Disney version would be easier on her eyes."

"Uh-huh... and you are teasing me when you watch Disney films?" Nikola drawled as Will's lips twitched in amusement; there was no way that anyone couldn't find the idea of Henry watching Disney's Anastasia funny. No way whatsoever.

**T=E=M=P=L=U=M**

**K= = = =N= = = =S= = = =N= = = =K**

**T=E=M=P=L=U=M**

_**Later in the day**_

_21:36pm_

"You're here to investigate the murders of the students aren't you?" Will asked suddenly, looking up from his whiskey to pierce Nikola with an intense stare as Helen and Henry started. Will watched as Nikola stiffened slightly and slowly raised the glass to his lips; distraction technique, avoidance of the issue, stalling. "Though I'm curious as to why you're even bothered with these murders in the first place. From what we've gathered so far there's nothing that's of any importance to you or any of your 'research' so why are you looking into this? What's the ulterior motive with this?"

Nikola glared darkly at Will as the young psychologist sipped his whiskey tentatively and waited for the ex-vampire to answer his question. Slowly placing his wine glass back onto the table between them in the rather cosy study of the home Nikola was renting presently, Nikola answered. "I've been having dreams lately. Something that I'm not accustomed to anymore; one of the perks of being a vampire was the lack of needing sleep."

Helen listened in silence as Nikola stood up and moved over to stand against the mantelpiece, looking into the orange flames; his grey-eyes distant and internalised. "They're strange... chaotic flashes of scenes of a place I've never been, a home I've never seen before in my life. I don't really understand why they're happening but there's one thing that a recurring theme in them." Nikola turned to look at them, or more specifically directly at Helen. "In almost every dream I've had, from whatever perspective I'm experiencing everything from, I've had claws. Claws not unlike those that I used to personally have."

Helen gasped quietly as she blinked and Will frowned, taking in the new wealth of information that Nikola had strangely given to them very willingly. "Are you sure they're nothing but dreams Nikola? I mean we both know how long it's been since you last dreamt naturally so maybe-"

"I was passing through this town Helen only last week and I came across the exact same place I've seen in my dreams, and I know I've never been here; I checked my records Helen. The furthest I ever got was as far as Liverpool before I left for America. This town is a good couple dozen miles North of Liverpool." Nikola said stubbornly as he threw himself down into his seat and snatched the wine glass from the table to take a gentle sip of; regardless of how annoyed Nikola was he would never throw back wine. Period.

They fell into an uneasy silence as Nikola continued to sip at his wine and Helen continued to watch her old friend; though she supposed that she couldn't really use the term 'friend' when describing Nikola after the events of the recent past. But she couldn't exactly call him an enemy either; she knew Nikola better than any other member of the Five ever had, she'd known him for far longer than the others and so that granted her a certain ability to be able to discern what he was thinking or feeling which was usually 'on the money'. Usually. Not always.

Henry decided to pass the time by getting out his portable tablet PC and running some background checks on the student as well as hacking into the police system to get them the case file. He was so busy tapping away that he didn't notice how Nikola's gaze settled on his tablet PC with mild curiosity, nor did he notice how Helen's eyes were fixed on Nikola with intense interest. Will however did and he couldn't help but think of that scene in Jurassic Park where the hunter had been lining up to shoot that raptor in front of him when another one appeared out of nowhere and caught him out; well, okay, it wasn't exactly the same but it worked on the same principle of one watching two watching three. So what did that make Will? The camera that caught it all? Probably. He felt like a camera sometimes, his memory was one of his biggest advantages but also one of his biggest disadvantages; especially when he couldn't sleep because everything he'd seen was ingrained in his skull and was constantly being replayed like a video on repeat.

Will sighed softly and rubbed the bridge of his nose with his free hand as the other one clutched his whiskey a little tighter, he really shouldn't drink whiskey; it wasn't good for him, or his mind, or anything really other than a destroyed liver in thirty years. But he needed something to dampen the headache that had been present all day and had increased in strength when they'd come across Nikola. He remembered how Magnus had damn near dragged Nikola off the college campus and almost thrown him bodily into their rented vehicle. It had been an oddly amusing sight watching the ex-vampire get manhandled; and strangely satisfying to. So he revealed in Tesla's discomfort, so what? The guy loved to see them in the thick of it, it was only fair he was allowed to be happy when the ex-vampire got his arse kicked right?

"Oh man... that's just gross." Henry exclaimed as he pushed his tablet PC away from himself and Will leaned over and looked at one of the images on the screen. He cringed, Henry was right; that was gross. Will passed the tablet PC to Helen who looked at it closely, pulling a face as the images became progressively worse. "That's... that's... man! I thought those Keeper's had been ugly but man!"

"Fascinating. It's almost as though they literally been sucked dry, all of their muscle mass, bone density, fluid's, everything is just gone. This can't be naturally occurring, it's just not possible for this level of degradation in less than a month for each of them." Helen said as she looked up to stare at the three men who were all staring at her. "Here, Nikola look at this."

She passed the tablet PC over to the ex-vampire as Henry exclaimed. "Hey! Don't let the walking magnet fry that! I modified that one personally!"

Nikola rolled his eyes as he looked at Henry before turning his attention to the images on the screen. When his eyes landed on the page he froze. Helen and Will immediately picked up on Nikola's response and Helen leaned forward slightly as she asked softly. "Nikola? Are you alright?"

Nikola didn't answer her as he continued to stare at the image of the fourth and latest victim to die so horrifically with unconcealed horror. His breathing began to increase and both Helen and Will realised that he was having a panic-attack. Helen sprang towards Nikola as Will snatched the tablet PC out of his limp hands and tossed it to Henry who caught it reflexively. Helen sat down gingerly next to Nikola and slowly placed a hand on his back which caused the ex-vampire to tense up even more. She slowly began to rub circles into his back as she shushed his almost silently and whispered calming words to him, her eyes not leaving Nikola's almost white face.

Will wisely decided that he and Henry should vacate the room so he poked the young werewolf and jerked his head towards the door. Luckily enough, Henry understood what he meant and the two of them quietly vacated the room, closing the door behind them before Henry spoke. "What's up with him dude?"

Will shook his head and began walking down the corridor heading for their shared room. "I don't know, but going from what I know of him; I don't think he should have been as surprised as he was by those photos. I think he knows something that he's not telling us about."

"Yeah, well... what else is new?" Henry muttered as he opened the door to their shared room. Will didn't answer the young werewolf as they began to get ready to sleep. "Do you think the Doc's safe alone with him?"

"You kidding? Did you see the way she man-handled him earlier? She's was treating him like he was a rag doll!" Will replied smirking humorously as Henry laughed. Though Will was joking he didn't tell Henry that he'd left his walkie-talkie on in the study, sat on one of the chairs so that if anything happened he'd be able to hear through the head set he had attached to the one next to his bed. He was paranoid so what? In his profession you had to be.

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"Nikola." Helen said softly as she continued to rub circles into his back. "Nikola what is it? Tell me please."

Nikola's breathing had finally returned to normal but he was still awfully pale which caused Helen to frown in concern for her old friend. She was worried, very worried. In all the years that she'd known Nikola she'd never seen him react like this, except for that time when-

"Nikola. Do you know who did that to those students?" Helen enquired quietly and she almost sighed when Nikola's head jerked in affirmative. Oh dear. "Who was it Nikola?" Helen squeezed his hand slightly, she'd slipped her own into his limp hand after Will and Henry had left.

Nikola blinked slowly and his head turned slightly so that his eyes locked with Helen's as he croaked. "I'm connected to another vampire that's killing to sustain itself."

**To Be Continued!**


	3. Chapter Two

**Well, I've finally got this chapter finished; I found it to be ever so tantalisingly cruel to me since it was coming along in drips and drabs after an initial blaze – quite infuriating if I do say so. Just so people know of course, the initial musings (which are incredibly cynical and philosophical) are actually from my diary (yes I have a diary wow) and I thought that to some degree they'd be quite appropriate for Helen to think about... don't ask why...**

**Anyway, I hope you like this chapter (and praise me for writing it because by God was it hard to get into this B-plot of this fic; I much prefer my other one :p)**

**Kasey xx**

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**CHAPTER TWO**

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"_**Just like Cain and Abel**___

_**You pulled a sneak attack**___

_**I thought that we were brothers**___

_**Then you stabbed me in the back**___

_**Betrayed!**____**Oh boy, I'm so betrayed!**__**" **_

**The Producers, Betrayed**

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Throughout the history of humanity, and of other abnormals that can't exactly be defined as _'human'_ – though one must ask really: what is _'human'_? Is it conscious thought, posable thumbs, the ability to feel, the ability to rationalise, the capability to build stone structures, the capacity to wage war for a belief? What is it? Is it some single thing that one can only be eternally without altercation or transformation occurring? Is 'human' a perpetual state of ignorance and _'sophisticated'_ violence? One cannot answer this, one cannot know this since one can only see the world from a human perspective which moulds and shapes what is around oneself in accordance with a naturally constrained view courtesy of genetic markers and brain size. Human is but a term, a highly inaccurate and vague reference to which billions of breathing _'creatures'_ ascribe to being. Is it no more unique a term than _'animal'_ or the word _'dog'_ but our own measure of self-importance and inferiority causes us to place a level of value on the term 'human' that is higher than that placed on all other terms. If one thinks about it, truly spends time to ponder and consider it, one can promptly realise that the importance placed on terms such as _'King'_ and _'Lord'_ pales in comparison to how important being a _'human' _actually is. Afterall, with us being 'human' we elevate our status to a level far above that of all other living creatures upon planet Earth. _'Arrogance'_ is too vague a term to use when describing the human condition really in light of this revelation. But this a digression of the main topic of focus; betrayal, deceit, lying.

Anyway, throughout the history of humanity, there have been many stories, many fables, about the idea of betrayal. The deception of a close friend, a mother, a father, a lover all for the sake of selfish need. Most of the time the term _'betrayal'_ is described as being the breaking or violation of a contract, a trust or a confidence which results in moral and psychological conflict within a relationship. When you've lived more than the average human lives in a lifetime then you're bound to have committed a few acts of betrayal, whether they be for a ultimately good thing or not. Helen Magnus could certainly attest to that, how many men had she loved and buried in the past without them ever truly understanding why she didn't age? How many times did she ignore pleas for help because the pleas were from someone she wasn't meant to help? How many times had she woken up in the night with wide eyes as the memories tried to drown and suffocate her in her own internal darkness?

Too many times. Far too many.

How many times can one commit an act of betrayal before they finally get their _'comeuppance'_? How long can they live without consequence before responsibility comes along and stabs them in the back to give them a taste of their own medicine? How long? How many? What for? When for? How will? Too many questions for Helen and never enough answers.

She had become a scientist to find answers but it seems that for every question she finally discovers an answer for a thousand more questions are born from it; it's almost as though questions are Hydra's with the chaotic ability to breed more when each one is defeated. Though, technically speaking Hydra's were actually abnormal creatures – much like snake's in appearance– that had the curious ability to re-grow lost limbs, like starfish and some lizards can do. But that's semantics really.

Throughout Helen Magnus' life she had done and said many things that could, and had, ultimately betrayed someone or something – whether it be a failure to protect an abnormal or remain at the side of a lover until 'death' – so when she thought about it she could not say she was surprised by certain reactions from people, though she could say she was surprised by the reaction of others to the knowledge. Afterall, wouldn't one naturally come to the conclusion that a _'forgotten'_ child would be ultimately condemning and hurt by the knowledge that they had been _'abandoned'_ at birth?

That is why Helen was immensely surprised when Kathryn not only helped her carry Nikola back to the Sanctuary – though since the girl was far stronger it was more so Helen opening the doors for her – but also stood at her side as they waited patiently for Nikola awaken from his impromptu slumber; a part of Helen's mind was quite surprised that Vampire's could _'pass out'_ as Nikola had done but Kathryn hadn't seemed perturbed by it so she pushed the enquiring and inquisitive part of her mind to the back as emotional irrationality took hold of her senses.

"Lazy goit." Kathryn muttered quietly and Helen blinked suddenly, her mind whirling as she looked at her... daughter? "You do realise that he can wake up at any time but he's going to draw this out as long as he possibly can so that he avoids the pet murderer around these parts?"

For a moment Helen didn't understand the meaning of the girl's words but when it suddenly clicked she whispered softly. "John..."

Since her voice was low enough for a normal human to not hear Helen momentarily assumed that Kathryn hadn't heard her but, she _was_ standing next to a teenaged vampire with excellent auditory capabilities; it would have been harder for her to be heard if she'd simply _'thought'_ rather than spoken.

"The one and only I'm afraid Doctor Magnus. Should I go and head him off before he arrives here and demands to know why this one. " Kathryn motioned towards the still unconscious Nikola. "Is currently visiting the land of Nod?"

"What?" Helen said dumbly, her mind not working at its usual efficiency and she thought for a moment, a very long moment of course, whilst Kathryn waited patiently for her to add it up. "He's on his way to my office as we speak?"

"Well, technically he's just outside the door – oh, and he's not alone, I do think I can smell the rest of the party troupe out there as well." Kathryn replied smiling slightly as she turned to look at the door just as it opened and the one and only John Druitt – A.K.A Jack the Ripper – swanned into the room flanked by the rest of the Sanctuary team. "This is going to be fun." Kathryn muttered under her breath quietly enough for only Helen to hear since Helen was standing right next to her.

"Helen I can't find-" John began but he stopped abruptly mid-sentence as he spied who the two women were standing over. "What happened?" He asked immediately, concern could be heard in his voice and both Helen and Kathryn wondered whether it would still be there when he knew the whole truth of the matter.

"Nothing bad." Kathryn answered before Helen could speak, her voice was smooth and held no trace whatsoever of the rather earth-shattering revelation that they'd recently discovered. "He found out something that was... surprising in nature and simply fainted; quite like I'd expect a rather timid young girl to do when faced with the bogeyman." Kathryn watched Nikola out of the corner of her eye and noticed the briefest of facial twitches which revealed to her that Nikola was indeed awake. Now that was just plain rude in her opinion; he should face his demise like a man and not pretend to slumber whilst hiding behind his mate and offspring.

Kathryn moved silently, deftly and Helen opened her mouth to speak when Kathryn morphed and snarled darkly at Nikola's face which wrought about an instinctual response from the vampire. Nikola's eyes snapped open, the grey bleeding into black as he sprung off the sofa that they'd deposited him on. He whirled around to face Kathryn who had morphed back to her human form and was watching him with a single raised eyebrow.

"So nice of you to join us Tesla." Kathryn drawled acerbically as she moved slowly and sat down on the sofa. "We were starting to worry that you'd never wake up from your bout of unconsciousness." The feigned innocence and polite concern in her voice caught Will's attention as he narrowed his eyes and studied her intensely.

He studied how her hair was slightly dishevelled, which was surprising since the only time he'd ever seen her with messy hair was after a battle with an abnormal – but she hadn't had any recent skirmish's with an abnormal except for that little _'disagreement'_ with Nikola earlier on. He wondered what had happened to cause her to look slightly ruffled; his trained eyes spied a small piece of a leaf on her pants leg, just over the knee as well as slight grass stains which suggested that she'd picked something up off the ground – which probably made sense since he supposed she'd carried the unconscious Nikola to Magnus' office. But that didn't answer the question as to what had made the elder vampire pass out, or faint as he was going to say pointedly just so as to annoy the vampire. Realising that Kathryn wasn't going to be all that forthcoming with information, whether it be from a verbal interrogation or behavioural observation, Will quickly switched his attentions to Tesla and Magnus; both of whom were standing and looking a little... out-of-sorts? In fact, they almost looked as though they didn't know which way to go on the path of explanation which he and the others were waiting for.

"What happened?" John repeated again, drawing the attentions of Helen, Nikola and Kathryn simultaneously. He stared at each of them in turn, his gaze lingering on Helen before settling on Nikola as he asked. "Did someone finally discover a way to kill you old chap?"

Nikola snorted on reflex and Will picked up on it – the young protégé picked up on the fact that the vampire wasn't offended and wasn't in the mood for a verbal sparring of any nature; which made him all the more suspicious since he'd never known the vampire to _never_ be ready for a good battle of wits.

"I resent that you know; if anyone discovers a way to kill him then they have also potentially discovered a way to kill me – something that I don't quite like the sound of might I add." Kathryn butted in quite unexpectedly as John's stare switched to her, his eyes boring into hers as though he was trying to see _inside_ of her but she didn't seem the least bit perturbed by the look. "And as to _why_ he fainted, well that's quite confidential but I can assure you it has nothing to do with his recent return to the state of vampirism Mister Druitt."

The tone of Kathryn's voice made Will frown slightly as he watched as John stiffened and Nikola changed his stance – in fact, the change in the vampire's stance made Will think, for a crazy moment, that he was gearing up to either protect Kathryn or himself from John... but that was impossible because there wasn't anything that had been said or done which could call for such a thing, was there? Will decided to try and wrangle some information from the two vampire's and Magnus by saying pointedly. "Well it sounds as if you're hiding something from us and last time I checked, that's not how we work; full disclosure and all that."

"On the contrary, there are many things that you're not privy to protégé since they're of no immediate concern to you – much like the information surrounding this is by the way." Kathryn threw at him making him blink suddenly; the girl's tone of voice – normally so soft and polite but underlined with a hint of steely determination – had a venomous undertone to it that he'd never heard from her. Even Tesla hadn't sounded that venomous when he'd been _'de-vamped'_ less than a year ago.

Will opened his mouth again, to try and push the girl into revealing something – not really expecting it to work though since the girl could keep a secret better than the dead could – when Magnus cut him off. "That's quite enough. Kathryn I understand that you're very surprised by this knowledge right now but-"

"And you think I'm not Helen?" Nikola cut-in, ignoring the way Helen glared at him as he moved around the back of the sofa in a move which Will noticed put more objects between himself and John. "I think my response was a bit of a give-away on how surprised _I_ am, don't you think?

Helen glared at him in frustration before turning to look at the rest of them in the room, most noticeably at John though and Will thought that the look on her face as she stared at her – friend, lover, husband-turned-psychotic-murderer? – was guilt but it was gone as quickly as it'd came only to be replaced by her usual poker face. "Perhaps it would be best if everyone took a seat; this information is going to be quite..."

"Gob-smacking." Kathryn put in helpfully and Helen looked at her. "What? My brother used to say it all the time." Helen's left eye twitched as Nikola stiffened even more and Will's already narrow eyes narrowed even further as he catalogued ever move of their facial features and twitch of their bodies; cataloguing, processing, analysing and using the information to make deductions that would make James Watson proud – or absolutely furious depending on how he looked at it.

"Surprising." Helen finished as she moved over to her desk which she sat behind whilst everyone else took a seat on the sofas and other chairs, except for Kathryn and Nikola – both of whom chose to stand on either side of Helen leaning against the bookcase; an act that Will found oddly intriguing as he noticed that they had the exact same relaxed stance that couldn't quite hide the tension in their muscles, though Kathryn looked to be the more relaxed of the two.

John sat down in one of the chairs directly in front of Helen's desk, on the side closest to Nikola, and Will took the other seat as Kate, Henry and the Big Guy high-jacked the sofas in the room. Helen looked at the screen on her computer and began tapping away on the keyboard quickly and efficiently but from where Will was seated he picked up on the minute tremors in his mentor's hands which made his worry-scale into an inadequate tool of measuring his concern. "As you know, when Nikola was fatally wounded several months ago." Helen began and Will half-expected the vampire to cut-in and complain about making him relive such a traumatic event but he was surprised when Nikola didn't utter a word; the vampire instead choosing to stare at Helen, then at Kathryn then John and back at Helen again in a strange triangle of repetition which confused Will enough for him to tune-out Magnus' voice for a moment before he zoned back into what she was saying.

"Since Kathryn had to use her own blood in order to create the serum to return Nikola to his previous vampiric state there had to be certain... genetic markers present so as to allow Nikola's body to accept the blood-based serum." Helen hesitated. "At the time I was more concerned with Nikola's failing health and so I didn't spend as much time as I should have on analysing the serum-"

"If you could call _'not spending enough time'_ as being snatching the needle from my hand as he went into cardiac arrest then yes; that does seem like a valid excuse for your lapse in medical etiquette." Kathryn interrupted smoothly, ignoring the half-glare Helen threw her way – the same half-glare that Will had seen her give Nikola whenever he interrupted her whilst she was mid-sentence, but this was the first time she'd ever given the girl the same look; was that connected to what Magnus was talking about and did it have any bearing on the rapidly evolving idea forming in his mind?

"Since the serum saved Nikola's life and returned him to his previous state I instead focused my attention on his medication and so neglected to fully analyse the compound of the serum until recently when I found certain similarities which intrigued me." Helen continued and she hesitated again before turning the screen of her computer around so that they could see what was on it. "As you can see, both samples of blood share a number of DNA markers which suggests that-"

"That whoever these samples belong to are related." John finished quietly as he stared at the screen for a long time before his eyes snapped onto Nikola's tense form. There was silence in the room for a long, long time as everyone awaited the older man's reaction to the news. "You old Devil." John smiled crookedly and Nikola's previously tensed form relaxed somewhat, but not entirely which made Will curious as to what else Magnus had to say – afterall, Will figured that if that was all Magnus wanted to tell them then the vampire still wouldn't be tense and weary in any way right?

"That's not all of it." Kathryn interrupted as everyone's attention pivoted from Nikola onto the girl before switching to Helen expectantly. "And this is when the fun starts."

Helen swallowed in a surprisingly obvious show of nervousness as she tapped a few more buttons on her keyboard which brought up another set of DNA results; one which they could all see was one of the one's they'd seen just moments ago, but the other one was a new one and they studied it closely before they all came to the same conclusion – Will and John realising sooner than the others.

"Oh man..." Henry said, in an awed half-whisper as Kate raised her eyebrows as she too reached the same conclusion as everyone else had. "Dude... you and the doc..." The young werewolf looked from Nikola to Helen and back to the vampire, his face showing a myriad of different emotions before a look of anger settled on his features.

Will stood up cautiously and noticed immediately that the look of anger on Henry's face was nothing, absolutely nothing, compared to the look of pure betrayal on John's face as the older, bald man stood up slowly and menacingly. Helen rose from her seat as well and began to speak. "John... wait..."

But John didn't wait, wouldn't wait, and nor would Henry as the pair of them – in perfect unison – dived towards Nikola who had frozen looking very much like he didn't know what to do. Luckily enough for the vampire however the Big Guy wrapped his arms around Henry quickly and held the snarling man back and Kathryn stepped directly in front of Nikola and snarled; a snarl which was low but filled with a sort of menacing promising of death to anyone that challenged her. The girl's arms were outstretched by her sides, her fingernails having elongated into sharp, ebony-black claws which glinted in the artificial light of the office. Her face was distorted as a row of sharp, jaggered teeth produced from her mouth, causing her lips to be parted slightly, and her eyes were a soft of deadened black with a core of burning, flaming blood-red in the centre which marked her out as being unique in the world of vampires.

"Why don't you think with that pea-brain of yours for a moment Jacky-boy otherwise I'm afraid you'll have to picked up off the carpet." Kathryn snarled, the words sounding distorted and wrong as though they had come from a digital voice-changer rather than a teenage girl's vocal cords.

John froze mid-dive and instinctively dropped into a defensive position – his legs were bent slightly making him seem shorter than he actually was and his back was arched as his head was tilted in a coldly calculating manner reminiscent of the scenes in Jurassic Park where the Velociraptors planned an ambush and such. "Good boy." Kathryn said humorously as she titled her head to the side slightly in a far more intimidating impression of a predator challenging another predator. "Now tell me; from what you know of Helen Magnus do you think that – if she'd known I'd existed – that she'd have left me, disowned me willingly?" John didn't answer but something in his expression must have given his thoughts away as Kathryn smirked patronisingly. "Thought not. Right. Then tell me, going from what you know of Nikola Tesla, do you think he could – in good or bad faith – ignore his own offspring, especially when one considers the fact that said offspring would have a high probability of having the same genome as he and thus allowing the offspring the abilities of a vampire?"

John blinked suddenly, feeling his anger dissipating – no, not dissipating per say – as thought and reason made a splendid return and enabled him to think about the matter in its entirety. Kathryn waited patiently, flexing her claws slightly making her appear more menacing, as John calmed down somewhat before she delivered the final blow to kill John's anger stone-dead. "Right, since you've obviously realised that neither of them would have willingly, or knowingly, abandoned me to fate in the big, bad world perhaps you could then devote your limited brain power to the idea that if they had... produced me during a sexual act." Helen winced at Kathryn's wording but she ignored her and continued, her gaze focused unfalteringly on John. "Don't you think that one; Tesla would never have left her side afterwards and two; they would have recalled it? Also, add in the fact that since you did happily commit murder and such whilst you were engaged – yes I know about that, it's amazing what you can overhear with superior auditory abilities you know – and then did a runner, thus ending whatever legitimate relationship you then had, that Doctor Magnus would thus be a _'free-agent'_ making her actions unaccountable to yourself or to the pet fur ball over there?"

Helen stared at Kathryn in surprise before focusing on John, who it seemed had frozen in place – if you excluded the fact that he was blinking rapidly; an act which Helen recognised as John's way of showing his surprise and confusion at something. It seemed that Kathryn's words had a sudden effect on both Henry and Nikola as the pair of them started, one coming alive with activity whilst the other calmed down considerably. "What did you mean?" Nikola demanded suddenly as he stepped next to Kathryn, ignoring everyone else – including the man who'd already shoved his hand into his guts before today – as he focused his attention entirely on the girl who was morphing back into her human form. "You think I'd have only stayed and cared for you if I'd known you'd had vampiric abilities?"

Helen looked at Nikola in surprise as she realised that he was actually hurt by the insinuation of Kathryn's words; it seemed that a lot of surprises had been planned for today – fate must be laughing merrily at them. She stepped forward suddenly and came to stand on the other side of Kathryn, partially so that she could get a clear and unimpeded view of the Sanctuary's resident vampires and partially because she felt a little left out of the _'family'_ argument. Heavens, she had a family; an actual blood-based family again... after Ashley she'd thought she'd lost that but now there was this girl, this young and unseemly child who Helen had come across purely by happenstance, and Helen felt like the world was tilting left and right; everything was out of focus but at the same everything was perfectly in-focus and it made her head thump painfully as her emotions reached the highest they'd been since Ashley's death... oh God, her Ashley, her daughter and now there was another one... taking Ashley's place, replacing her and Helen was so angered by that, so hurt that she didn't know what to do... she felt lost and angry and broken and so very confused that she couldn't quite keep up with the pace of the others around her. She was being left behind and it was terrifying for her... she was immortal, she didn't die – couldn't die, and they were already moving forward leaving her in the turbulent sea of emotions that she was drowning in.

"Magnus!" Will exclaimed suddenly as he dove forward and caught Helen as she collapsed, her heart and mind overwhelmed by everything – too many days since she'd first discovered that Kathryn was her daughter and she could handle it no more. Nikola and John moved to help Will carry Magnus as they moved her over to one of the sofas; none of them paying attention to the fact that it didn't take three men to carry her – especially since two of those men had altered blood which made them stronger than the average male. Almost reverently they placed her down on the sofa and John immediately moved to sit on the edge of the sofa, taking one of Helen's limp hands in his own and grasping it tightly. Nikola stood back, hovering over the unconscious Helen but not actively interfering as Will set about checking her stats; though any idiot could clearly see the concern and worry and fear etched into every pore of his skin.

Kathryn stood further back than Nikola but there was still an air of concern for Magnus about the girl, though not as great as the others in the room. "Henry, run down to the lab and get the infirmary ready, now." Will ordered firmly, not stopping in his 'doctoring' and he didn't have to wait to hear the sound of Henry's loping strides to tell him that the werewolf was positively flying down the corridors in his hurry to do as Will asked. "Big Guy, could you get one of the gurney's from the storage closet on this floor, we'll need to move her in a minute?"

The Big Guy grunted, naturally, in affirmative and almost silently vacated the room to do as Will wished – Will didn't speak again after that and they all waited in tense silence for the Big Guy to return with the gurney; which was less than a minute which informed them all of how fast the Big Guy could be when he was prompted.

"Nikola, help me get her up on the gurney." Will ordered as he looked at John who glared at him but Will ignored him – which made some part of John's mind suddenly think that Will was James reincarnate; the glare that John had shot the young protégé could level city blocks but all the boy had done was completely disregard him in favour of focusing on more important matters. Quickly and efficiently Will and Nikola managed to transfer the still unconscious form of one Helen Magnus onto the gurney and the three men began to wheel the gurney in the direction of the lift with everyone else following behind them. None of them spoke.

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"Is she alright?" John demanded immediately as Will closed the door to Magnus' private room firmly. The young protégé resisted the urge to sigh and roll his eyes knowing that John was only concerned but even so, the guy had been asking him everytime he'd come out of the room and it was getting annoying.

Rolling his neck around several times Will felt the bones in his neck 'crack' loudly and he moved to sit down at the empty seat at the monitoring station for the private rooms in the infirmary, before he answered the frustrated man towering over him. "She's a little malnourished – probably hasn't been eating enough – and she looks like she hasn't slept properly in the past few days; both of which are the causes for her passing out earlier when coupled with the emotional and physical stress of everything that's happened recently." Will paused and looked up at the older man and said softly. "She'll be fine after a few hours of decent sleep and some good food. I promise."

"I hope you keep your promises well young William." John said darkly, his eyes glittering in worry and fear for the still unconscious woman. Will wanted to wince at the barely veiled threat but he mentally stopped himself as he nodded in understanding and rubbed the bridge of his nose – he needed to start wearing his glasses again; never mind what Magnus said about his eyesight being fine and all that.

Will heard the sound of John's footsteps fading as the older man finally left the room – though Will thought that he was probably going in search of something or someone to pulverise; probably Tesla – and he looked up at an empty room. Well... when he thought it was empty-

"She'll be up and about in the next three hours, bet you." Kathryn said conversationally as she stepped out of the shadowy part of the partially illuminated room – damn Will thought, they really needed to make sure all corners of room's were well-lit now. Will stared at the young girl as she moved silently across the room over to the room Magnus was in and looked in through the two-way window at her... mother? Oh that one was going to give him the – if you'll pardon the pun – mother of all headaches wasn't it?

"How can you be so sure?" Will found himself asking and he was surprised when Kathryn turned her head to look at him and he saw, for the first time since he'd first seen her back when they'd been investigating that college in England, how much she looked like Magnus with her hair down – since the girl normally had it up it was hard to notice but now that it was down Will felt like smacking himself for missing it for so many months.

"Simple really." Kathryn answered as she smiled softly – once again reminding Will of Magnus when she smiled that exact same smile! – and she turned fully so as to lean against the glass wall. "We're meant to be leaving on this trip at a Godforsaken hour and she needs at least six hours to prepare everything; hence she'll be up and about in the next three hours." Will blinked and frowned automatically as he did the math and realised that to some degree the girl was right. "I would suggest that you go over everything to save Doctor Magnus the bother and then have the Big Guy prepare her favourite meal three and half-hours from now."

Before Will could say anything to the contrary the girl was standing next to the door - and damn was she fast! – where she turned to look back at him and gave him a warm, real smile before disappearing off to God-knows where, leaving Will to his thoughts. He decided that he'd do what she's suggested and he hurried about organising the Big Guy to make Magnus some food for her to eat before heading off to her office where he knew she kept an itinerary of everything that was going on – he should know afterall, he'd tried to do her job once before and he knew it was time-consuming.

**T=E=M=P=L=U=M**

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**T=E=M=P=L=U=M**

True to the Kathryn's word Helen Magnus was indeed awake two-hours and fifty-eight minutes after her impromptu slumber and she was already trying to get out of the infirmary bed whilst Will hovered about her; he was worried that she was straining herself unnecessarily but he was also concerned as to what John would do to _him_ if he let Helen leave the infirmary so soon after waking – heck, Magnus hadn't even eaten the food the Big Guy had brought for her!

"Magnus!" Will exclaimed as Helen stood up fully, having finally managed to untangle herself from the bedding, and he moved over to stand in front of her – half-blocking her way with his own body in a fruitless bid to keep her near to the bed just in case she collapsed again. "You need to rest." He said firmly as Helen looked up at him.

"Nonsense Will. " Helen disagreed as she smartly side-stepped him and made her way over towards the door of the room. "I'm more than well-rested I can assure."

"Really? Then do you want to tell me why you passed out less than three hours ago?" Will asked sarcastically as he moved across the room and stood behind his mentor as she keyed in the code to open the door – only to find that the code wouldn't open the door. "Yeah, I had Henry change the code whilst you were unconscious." Will said nonchalantly as Helen turned around slowly and fixed him with a sharp glare.

"That is completely unnecessary." Helen said in outrage as she moved past Will over to the bed. "I am completely well; what happened earlier was the result of a great amount of stress which momentarily overwhelmed me!" Will raised an eyebrow as Helen continued to glare at him. "I am fine!"

"Then why on Earth are you shaking like a leaf and your heart is beating faster than an 808 drum?" Kathryn quipped as she stepped into the observation room outside of Helen's own room, followed by Nikola and John – both of whom seemed to be giving one another a large berth. "And you can't deny either of those because, hello I'm a vampire and I can _see_ and _hear_ you better than the protégé can."

Nikola stepped up close to the two-way window and noticed that she was indeed shaking and, now that he listened for it, he could hear the speed of her heart. He narrowed his eyes in concern as his brow pinched and he frowned slightly; all signs that Will realised was how the vampire showed concern without exaggeration on his part. "You should get back in bed." Nikola said softly, his voice quiet, as he watched Helen pivot her glare from Kathryn onto himself. "Before you fall down." He added as Helen rolled her eyes but did as he suggested nonetheless.

"Helen. Are you alright?" John asked in concern as he too stepped up to stare through the two-way window. He placed his right hand lightly on the glass in an art that Kathryn guessed was his way of showing emotional concern; though she thought a little pointless but the symbolism wasn't lost on her, nor was it on Will or the others in the room.

"I am perfectly fine, just a little tired." Helen said smiling that gentle smile of her which had charmed many a politician into financing her Sanctuary network; unfortunately it wasn't working on Nikola, Will or Kathryn at all.

"Yeah, and I'm the Dali Lama and he's the Queen of Sheba." Kathryn drawled, jerking her head towards Nikola who glared at his daughter darkly. "Doctor Magnus, you've barely ingested enough sustenance to keep you functioning and hardly the required number of hours of sleep to safely say you're even remotely well-rested. Please don't be rash and just rest whilst you can."

Helen stared at Kathryn in silence and Will took the opportunity presented to add. "I've already done all the required checks, Henry set-up the system so it's entirely user-friendly and Kate's made sure that the feeding regime is entirely correct. All of our stuff is ready and waiting for when we set-off; there's nothing left for you to _do_ Magnus so just rest. And eat what the Big Guy's left for you; he made an effort." He watched as Helen looked at him with her eyebrows raised in obvious surprise before she sighed and her shoulders slumped, indicating her acquiesce to their wishes. She sat down on the bed and Will dutifully rolled the portable table over to her with her meal on top of it. He moved back and watched as she tucked into her meal, his attention drifting onto the other three people present so as to allow Magnus some privacy whilst she was dining.

Will observed how John didn't look like he'd recently been in altercation but the man was a good hundred-years his senior so he probably knew how to hide the signs of an attack and the like – not a nice thought for one to have before they planned on slumbering really was it? He also observed how Nikola looked to be the most well-groomed out of all of them and he, correctly, deduced that the vampire had spent the majority of the past three hours waiting in the library sipping one of the many expensive wines from the Sanctuary's wine-cellar. He noticed how the vampire was staring intently at Helen, his face almost inscrutable but Will caught the faintest hints of the emotions that were raging behind Nikola's smooth face; he could tell that the vampire was worried, concerned, conflicted and guilt-ridden over Helen's collapse – he blamed himself for the fact that the older woman had collapsed due to the emotional stress of recent months, especially since he was to blame for a large portion of that emotional stress.

When Magnus was finished with her meal she delicately threaded her fingers together and asked in mock politeness. "May I be excused from this room now William?" Oh... she wasn't amused with him, not if she was using his full-name.

Will suppressed the urge to wince as he nodded and moved over to the door, quickly keying in the code as he blocked the keypad with his body so as to stop Magnus from seeing the code – a pointless thing to do really since she was already probably planning on having Henry change the codes again. As he opened the door he heard the sound of the bed mattress depress as Magnus stood up and he was barely through the door before Helen was stepping through it and zooming off in the direction of the lift. Everyone else hurried behind her and by the time they reached her they found that the lift doors were already closing and she was standing inside it smiling at them sweetly.

"Remember, six-thirty." Helen called out to them just as the doors slide shut leaving her in the relative silence of the lift as it trundled vertically up towards the residential floor. She let out a loud sigh of relief and leant against the wall; heavens, she really was tired and the food she'd be forced to eat weighed heavily in her stomach. Deciding abruptly to actually trust her people Helen decided to go straight to her room and get some proper rest as opposed to the rest garnered from a bout of unconsciousness - she was quite embarrassed by that event really, she hadn't passed out in over four decades that she was a little surprised she had actually fainted. She'd been through far more stressful situations than this before in her lifetime and had never reacted so... dramatically, so why had she this time? It was quite the conundrum. Quite the conundrum indeed.

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_**To Be Continued in Chapter Three**_

**It'll probably be a week or so until the next chapter's posted peeps so you'll have to wait and see what happens :D**


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